Israel bars Gaza patients over 'Palestine' letterhead

[Capt. Obvious]

Source: Reuters

Israel has denied entry permits to some 50 Palestinian medical patients from the Gaza Strip because the words "State of Palestine" appears on the letterhead of their application, officials said on Wednesday.

Israel does not recognize a Palestinian state, whose creation it says should stem from peace negotiations. It voted against a U.N. General Assembly resolution in 2012 that gave de facto recognition to a sovereign Palestinian state.

....

He said 10 Palestinians whose cases were urgent were allowed to enter Israel while about 50 others were not.

....

It was unclear why Israeli authorities took exception this time, but the decision coincided with diplomatic wrangling in U.S.-sponsored peace talks over Israel's demand that Palestinians recognize it as a Jewish state in any final accord.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/12/us-palestinians-israel-health-idUSBREA1B1BO20140212

[Ash_F]

1. Turning the crazy up to 11. /nt

[Loaded Liberal Dem]

5. 12, actually

One for each of the Tribes.

[plantwomyn]

2. Is there

a cogent reason for the Palestinians NOT building a freaking hospital in Gaza?

[delrem]

3. It's called a siege.

[plantwomyn]

91. My map shows that Gaza is bordered by Egypt. Is it wrong?

[delrem]

93. You ought to study Egypt's politics, if you don't understand how Egypt contributes to the siege.

But you ought to know the rudiments of that already, if you're discussing this topic.

[plantwomyn]

97. Interestingly,

it's seems from your post that you feel that the rudiments are that Egypt get's a pass because of their politics.

[delrem]

107. I'm astounded by your reasoning.

you do understand that Gaza is under siege, right?

So what, now, are you implying about *me*? And why?

eta: I misspoke, you showed *no* reasoning whatever. You simply accused me of something totally out of the blue when there exists *zero* justification. So GOOD BYE.

[plantwomyn]

108. You keep using that word seige

I do not think you know what it means.

[delrem]

110. I think anyone who denies that there's a siege on Gaza is a liar. Plain and simple.

To say nothing of how you lied about *me*, personally.

[plantwomyn]

112. I see that you don't know what the words "it seems" mean either.

I also think that anyone who denies the FACT that people travel in and out of Gaza DAILY is delusional.

[delrem]

113. Oh come ON!

GOOD BYE! (shudder)

[cali]

109. there are hospitals in Gaza

They do not have the level of care that is extant in Israeli hospitals.

[delrem]

111. Of course there are. And Gaza is under siege.

[Capt. Obvious]

4. Did the Bantustans build their own hospitals?

I actually didn't find a quick answer for that on the Google Machine.

[Ash_F]

6. This post is impressive. I recommend it for a good laugh. /nt

[MyNameGoesHere]

7. You are correct. Then the Israelis would have another fine target

to bomb or bulldoze.

[cpwm17]

12. Yes, that's how Israel operates

I remember the war Israel started against Lebanon more than a few decades ago. Israel hit just about every hospital in southern Lebanon. At the time I thought it strange that they kept hitting hospitals, each time killing a couple hundred Lebanese. As a kid I knew there had to be something wrong with Israel.

It has since been proven that the attacks against the hospitals were deliberate. They were the biggest targets with the most available humans to obliterate. Israel wanted to punish Lebanon for allowing the Palestinians to politically organize and press their case for their right to return to their native Palestine.

Israel doesn't recognize the Palestinians' right to exist, so Lebanon had to be punished.

[sked14]

14. And, one more time,

Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, refuse to recognize Israel's right to exist.
It goes both ways.

[MyNameGoesHere]

25. Signing a paper saying a country can exist

is one thing. Surrounding a country in a siege is another thing. Back in the 40's they had a name for those kind of places. Ghettos. Now why would one country want to use a genocidal strategy that was so detrimental to them? Makes you wonder huh?

[sked14]

26. Both side are guilty of this situation.

[MyNameGoesHere]

28. You mean the massive and heavily backed by the USA Palestinian army? Do tell more.

I wasn't aware it existed.

[sked14]

30. Ohhhh, now the implied USA guilt trip for backing Israel.

[MyNameGoesHere]

33. Of course the USA is guilty in assisted genocide

you live under a news rock?

[sked14]

36. ...

As if Hezbollah and Hamas are innocent participants in all this, yeah, they're just such misunderstood organizations.

[MyNameGoesHere]

40. You deflect then post a bunch of emotes

Either you are not working with a mature intellect or you are not old enough to attend elementary school. I at this point cannot pin point which it is.

[sked14]

47. I don't give a hoot on what you can or cannot pin down,

and I stand by my comments.

[EX500rider]

42. "Of course the USA is guilty in assisted genocide"

Nonsense, the Palestinian population has a population growth rate of 2.097% (2011 est.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_Palestinian_territories#Population_growth_rate

[MyNameGoesHere]

43. Sorry I cannot believe a census conducted by the perpetrators

of these crimes. Besides they are not known for taking meticulous records like the Nazi's did. Perhaps with more practice they will have better record keeping.

[EX500rider]

44. LOL...so your view is that the Palestinians population...

....is dropping due to Israeli "genocide" but you're the only one who know about it? Snort..

[bravenak]

56. EVERYONE knows about the 'Palestinian Problem'.

Maybe you don't, but even my 8 year old knows about the Nakba and what followed that. It's still going on today.

[EX500rider]

57. Yes I know all about the...

......1948 war in which Transjordan, Egypt, Syria and Iraq all attacked Israel and yes there were lots of refugees as in common in most wars.

[bravenak]

58. Refugees are supposed to be allowed to go home.

The world agreed to that after Hitler. Israel agreed to that. They're not in compliance. We fund them. We are complicit in the occupation of Palestine. We fund genocide and apartheid.

[EX500rider]

59. The only apartheid exists on the Palestinian side

Palestinians and Arabs live in Israel? yes

Jews live in Gaza? no

Muslim's have mosque's and practice their religion in Israel? yes

Jewish people or Temple's in Gaza? zero

Percentage of Israel that is Arab? 20%

Gaza % that is Jewish....zero

Who exactly sounds more apartheid like?

[bravenak]

60. Why would Gazan want to let the same people who held them hostage move in?

Especially when the siege is ongoing and the rest of Palestine is still hostage. You have to free your prisoners before you ask them to let you be their roommate.

There's your answer to all the inquiries.

Can't immigrate into gaza if your nation state is the one holding gaza hostage. It would be stupid in the extreme for them to let Israelis in. The IDF comes with them, settlers, price tag attacks, 6 year olds getting arrested and transported to Israel for trial, kids getting shot in the back, homes torn down for Israeli Jewish settlements without the permission of Palestine. What madness!!!


You can't hold a nation under siege and the call them racist for not letting their oppressors (you) in. Unless you have lost your mind.

[cpwm17]

95. Your history is highly flawed

You conveniently leave out the part where the pre-Israel Zionists were already expelling the native Palestinians from Palestine when Transjordan, Egypt, Syria entered the fray. The Palestinians' neighbors entered Palestine to save the Palestinians and the region from the racist aggressors. Any claim to an Israel by the extreme racist aggressors was in no way legitimate.

The huge stream of Palestinians flowing into the neighboring countries was an large burden of the small and poor countries. The Zionists also claimed they had a right to seize more land from those same neighboring nations. Zionism was, and still is, a huge threat to the region. History has proven that fact. It is tragic for the region that the Arab nations couldn't stop it.

[EX500rider]

96. "The Palestinians' neighbors entered Palestine to save the Palestinians and the region.....

.......from the racist aggressors."

Yes that's it, the surrounding arab countries actually love the jewish people and just came reluctantly to the aid of the poor Pal.s to protect them from the "racist aggressors", didn't really want to push the jews into the sea.....

...your history is highly made up.

[EX500rider]

45. I think you mean you can't trust a census run by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS)

....not the Israeli's

[Ash_F]

46. Depends on your definition of genocide

"Generally speaking, genocide does not necessarily mean the immediate destruction of a nation, except when accomplished by mass killings of all members of a nation. It is intended rather to signify a coordinated plan of different actions aiming at the destruction of essential foundations of the life of national groups, with the aim of annihilating the groups themselves. The objectives of such a plan would be the disintegration of the political and social institutions, of culture, language, national feelings, religion, and the economic existence of national groups, and the destruction of the personal security, liberty, health, dignity, and even the lives of the individuals belonging to such groups."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide

[EX500rider]

64. "with the aim of annihilating the groups themselves"

Doing a piss poor job then since the Palestinians have a positive population growth.

[Ash_F]

65. Read for comprehension. /nt

[EX500rider]

66. Yes you should try that.

Or are you skipping over the ""with the aim of annihilating the groups themselves" part?

The Israel's are a nuclear power with the best armed forces in the Middle East and could easily have annihilated the Palestinians long ago if they so desired.

If the shoe was on the other foot I wonder what the PLO would do....lol

[Ash_F]

75. How do you define annihilation?

Let me narrow it down for you

"The objectives of such a plan would be the disintegration of the political and social institutions, of culture, language, national feelings, religion, and the economic existence of national groups, and the destruction of the personal security, liberty, health, dignity, and even the lives of the individuals belonging to such groups."

[leftynyc]

78. Stop digging

It's not even close to a genocide and it's ridiculous to try and defend using that word for a people whose population keeps growing. It just makes you look hyperbolic.

[Ash_F]

81. It's not my definition. /nt

[EX500rider]

84. With the end result of annihilation..

.....which the Palestinians are in no danger of with a positive population growth.

[Ash_F]

87. You define a word with that same word. /nt

[EX500rider]

88. here- I'll help u out:Annihilation is defined as "total destruction" or "complete obliteration"

"Annihilation is defined as "total destruction" or "complete obliteration" of an object; having its root in the Latin nihil (nothing). A literal translation is "to make into nothing"."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annihilation

Quite a stretch there to say that's happening to the Pal.s while they have a positive population growth.

[Ash_F]

89. That doesn't say anything about popluation

Population of the entire region has risen.

Once again:

"The objectives of such a plan would be the disintegration of the political and social institutions, of culture, language, national feelings, religion, and the economic existence of national groups, and the destruction of the personal security, liberty, health, dignity, and even the lives of the individuals belonging to such groups."

[EX500rider]

90. Now your just being silly..

.....you can't be heading to the total destruction of a thing if the thing is growing. That will not lead to "make into nothing".

[Scootaloo]

76. What shit.

First off, Hezbollah is in Lebanon, and Iran is Iran. Neither is relevant to Gaza. I would wonder why you're tossing them all together as if they were the same, but, well, I already know why.

Second, while Hamas indeed does not recognize Israel, that is irrelevant as well. They are at best a political party and at worst a criminal organization. As a political party they are part of an entity / government that does recognize Israel - as of 1993. This renders Hamas' position into pretty pointless bloviation. As a criminal organization, who really gives a fuck about their political ideology? I don't judge the mafia by what political positions the don favors, I judge 'em as a criminal organization. Further, the irrelevancy is compounded by the fact that even when they were in full swing, Hamas had no shot at achieving any of their rhetoric. They're angry men shouting at clouds and occasionally throwing grenades at random - mostly hitting parking lots, because they have the aim of drunken Imperial Storm Troopers.

This being the case, the concept of a violent military siege and blockade against an entire polity of 1.7 million people, over the utterly irrelevant opinion of a political party / gang is, to put it bluntly, fucking psychotic. What is this, we don't like your opinion, so we're going to not just liquidate you, your family, and anyone with the misfortune of standing nearby, but we're also going to utterly crush and eradicate the entirety of the society around you?

And no. This is not a case of "both sides are guilty," unless you mean in the most utterly vague and meaningless sense of neither side is perfectly innocent. But there is no parity, no equality here. It's like responding to a fistful of popcorn by shooting a guy dead. You could argue chucking popcorn at someone isn't the right thing to do, sure. But gunning him down is a response so beyond the pale, so fucking off-the-rails insane, that no credible argument could be had that "he started it!" or "he brought it on himself!" And in this simile, Israel's not just shooting the guy chucking things at Israel, but also the guy's date, all the people in the first two rows, then locking the doors and setting the theater on fire.

So no. I don't think blowing up hospitals and water sanitation plants that millions depend on to live in a place with no water resources can be justified by pointing at a guy chucking pipe bombs into empty fields and going "HE STARTED IT!"

[EX500rider]

85. Which palestinian hospitals did the IDF "blow up" ? n/t

[reusrename]

37. Is this the old "blame the victim, not the rapist" argument?

Sure sounds the same.

[sked14]

38. ???

Take it any fucking way you want, I don't care.

[bravenak]

55. Still laughing?

Sorry about that. It will get better.

[sked14]

61. At you.

[bravenak]

62. Poor you!!

Must be a terrible affiction.

[sked14]

63. Wouldn't know.

[bravenak]

67. It seems to have subsided.

You can thank me later.

[sked14]

68. You're a funny person.

I like you.

[bravenak]

69. Thanks!

You're all right yourself. Let's be friends.

[sked14]

70. Wholeheartedly agree.

[bravenak]

71. I like you.

You made me smile.

[sked14]

72. Ditto.

Smiles have been scarce since last week when my wife's 2 yo pet Starling passed away, I really needed your post.



Wife feeding Piper when she was just a youngster.

Thanks.

[bravenak]

73. I'm so sorry to hear that!!

What a cutie pie. I'm sorry you lost your baby.
I'm sending good vibes your way, from me and mine.

[sked14]

83. Thank you so much.

She was my wife's favorite.

[former9thward]

98. When Hamas uses the building to fire rockets at civilian targets, yes.

They traditionally use schools and anything else to get collateral damage that they can blame Israel.

[LeftyMom]

49. They're not allowed to import most building materials, or medicines,

and their water and power are subject to punitive disruption. Also food is limited (there's a quota based on a very low calories per day calculation for residents for the maximum amount of FOOD allowed, ffs) and often spoils before it makes it past the checkpoints.

You try operating a hospital when you can't build a building, get medicine, keep the water and power on or feed patients and when anything you did put together would be promptly damaged or destroyed.

[former9thward]

99. Not allowed by who? Egypt?

[Recursion]

74. American-made bombs? (nt)

[cpwm17]

8. Once again the Israelis prove they don't recognize the Palestinians' right to exist

and the Palestinians were there first.

[sked14]

9. Just like Hamas refusing to recognize Israel's right to exist.

Or Hezbolla's refusal to acknowledge Israel's right to exist.
It goes both ways.

[Capt. Obvious]

11. Hezbollah

Are they trying to get into hospitals from Lebanon now?

[sked14]

13. Who cares?

I was answering another post on Israel's refusal to recognize Palastine.

[Capt. Obvious]

15. But what does this have to do with the price of fish in Portugal?

[sked14]

16. Just like your post,

Nothing!

[Capt. Obvious]

19. Let me know when Hezbollah sets up shop in Gaza

[sked14]

20. Let me know when Hezbollah recognizes Israel's right to exist

and stops attacking Israel.

[Capt. Obvious]

21. I'm going to end this now

[sked14]

22. Probably for the better.

[bravenak]

51. You do know that Hezbollah is not Palestine.

Right?
The PA has recognized Israel's right to exist. Now Israel needs to recognize Palestine.

You have my sympathy for your laughing affliction. I figure anyone laughing at apartheid must need my sympathy and maybe a little pity.

[sked14]

52. Don't need nor want your sympathy.

And I am well aware that Hezbollah isn't part of Palestine, but Hamas is and they are sending rockets into Israel.
Save your sympathy for someone who cares.

[bravenak]

53. You have my sympathy regardless.

I feel terribly sorry for you.

[bravenak]

54. You need to decide whether it's Hezbollah or Hamas that's the problem.

We can help you figure this out. All you have to do is ask for information and someone here will provide appropriate reading materials.
You will make it through this.
Condolences to you and yours.

[former9thward]

101. The PA does not exist in Gaza.

Hamas does not recognize Israel.

[azurnoir]

41. Palestine is represented by the PA/PLO who recognized Israel's 'right to exist' 21 years ago

and it was their letter head that caused this

[former9thward]

100. The PA does not exist in Gaza.

Hamas has murdered their supporters. But I bet you know that.

[azurnoir]

102. yes however it was a Palestinian Authority letter head

and there are still members of the PA/Fatah in Gaza

but I bet the no longer with us person I was replying to thanks you for replying in his stead

[former9thward]

103. According to the OP the letterhead said "State of Palestine"

You have no idea whether it was PA letterhead. Did you see it? And no, the PA adherents have been executed by Hamas.

[azurnoir]

104. perhaps you should read the article before replying from the article:

Israeli treatment for patients from the Gaza Strip - an enclave run by Hamas Islamists hostile to Israel - is arranged by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the occupied West Bank.

Omar al-Naser of the Palestinian Health Ministry in the West Bank city of Ramallah said the ministry had been using the "State of Palestine" letterhead for a year without any move by Israel to deny patients entry.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/12/us-palestinians-israel-health-idUSBREA1B1BO20140212

The letterhead came from the Palestinian Authority

[former9thward]

105. You keep on trying to say the PA has authority in Gaza.

It does not. Hamas rules there. The article cites Ramallah which is in the West Bank not Gaza.

[azurnoir]

106. No that is not what I am saying it says quite plainly the PA arranges medical treatment in Israel

for patients from Gaza once again in case you do not understand

Israeli treatment for patients from the Gaza Strip - an enclave run by Hamas Islamists hostile to Israel - is arranged by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the occupied West Bank.

Omar al-Naser of the Palestinian Health Ministry in the West Bank city of Ramallah said the ministry had been using the "State of Palestine" letterhead for a year without any move by Israel to deny patients entry.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/12/us-palestinians-israel-health-idUSBREA1B1BO20140212

[cpwm17]

17. Israel, or the pre-Israel Zionists, had and have no right to expel the Palestinians

from their native lands. You are turning logic on its head. The Palestinians are 100% the victims. Israel doesn't recognize their right to exist.

The Palestinians should never recognize anything Israel, or the pre-Israel Zionists, have done to them. Those are serious crimes and the Palestinians owe the Israelis nothing.

[sked14]

18. Wow!!!!

So Israel has no right to exist?
We're done here.

[cpwm17]

23. The Palestinian had already officially recognizes "Israel's right to exist"

whatever that means. What did the Palestinians get in return: more illegal settlements and Apartheid. But all that extreme bigots like you care about is the phony issue of "Israel's right to exist." – such a stupid way to rationalize evil.

[sked14]

24. Hamas, which controls part of Palestine,

refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist, or did you conveniently forget that?

[MyNameGoesHere]

27. You use this same bullshit talking point over and over

right to exist. IT'S A FUCKING DUMB argument. A made up argument by extremist. DO you think Palestinians are too stupid to look out their bombed hovels and NOT KNOW Israel exists? It is kind of fucking obvious.

[sked14]

29. As you are fucking obvious.

Do you deny that Hamas refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist?
Sound like the usual Israel bashing bullshit to me.

[MyNameGoesHere]

32. fanatics are all the same

you are in good company. How can you not recognize a fanatical talking point? Who cares about right to exist, they exist, it is a fact. Now use the real context of what that means and you MAY have some real points to talk about.

[sked14]

35. Same to you fanatic.

[cpwm17]

31. That is after Israel refused to recognize the Palestinians

after the Palestinians had formally recognized Israel. And, as cannot be repeated often enough, Israel has no right to not recognize the Palestinians as they were there first.

It is up to Israel to first recognize the natives' right to exist on their own land, then after that, the Palestinian can recognize Israel. The reverse makes no sense.

Asking the Palestinians to recognize "Israel's right to exist" is the same as asking the Palestinian to recognize the horrible crimes against them as legitimate.

The "Israel's right to exist" nonsense is a scam that allow Israelis, in their own mind, to continue their terrible human rights abuses against the Palestinians, and it is a way for the Israelis to blame the Palestinians for their own denial of their own crimes.

[sked14]

34. Let me know when the Hamas controlled part of palestine cracks

down on rockets fired into Israel stops, then we'll talk, until then, it's all bullshit.

[Scootaloo]

77. Quite thoroughly, actually

How many were fired in 2013? Billions and billions, no doubt, right?

Less than fifty. Funniest part? Not a single one fired by Hamas. Most came from the Mujahideen Shura Council which is based in Sinai (they complained when Hamas arrested some of their "activists" in Gaza afterwards.) A few came from Lebanon, and some bunch of nobodies in Syria calling themselves the Abdul Qader al-Husseini brigades lobbed some flying bombs into Golan, which strikes me as doubly counterproductive.

Of the total rocket attacks on Israel last year, maybe half came from the Gaza strip, all of which were, in essence, some bunch of twerps firing off two or three (more often just one) then hauling ass.

Total casualties? Zero.

[LeftyMom]

50. God told me I can have your house.

It's always been My House. Also the rest of the houses on your block are part of Greater My Property. If you behave I'll let you set up a shanty on my yard, but I'm going to surround your shanty with razor wire, only let you come and go when I say, and if you piss me off I'll forget to let your groceries or your children's medicine get delivered.

If you don't recognize my right to Greater My Property or resist my benevolent rule things may happen to your shanty.

[EX500rider]

86. The Palestinians were there 1st is a strange argument to use in the birthplace of Judaism..

....Judaism has its roots as a structured religion in the Middle East during the Bronze Age.

Who was where 1st?

[cpwm17]

94. A couple of thousand years ago

Jews, along with many other groups of people at the time, lived in the area. So that somehow gives Jews an absolute right to the land, greater than the rights of the people who can trace their ancestry back for thousands of years still living there?

That's ridiculous – the type of ridiculous argument one sees from extreme fundamentalists and the type of argument one learns to expect for the pro-Israel crowd.

[7962]

10. Apparently this Sheik feels the same way

http://hebrewnationonline.com/blog/sheik-ahmad-adwan-allah-gave-the-land-of-israel-to-the-jews/

I've looked around and havent seen anything to dispute this statement being made.

[freshwest]

80. It's an interesting take on the name of the area. The word Palestine is from the Roman name,

Syria Palæstina, part of their empire. I'm sure the natives had different names for the area prior to that era. The one we most hear about is Israel, but it was only part.

That the U.N. recognizes a state of Palestine, could be seen as a creation of Europe. It is a European name. The people that now identify as Palestinians, an accepted term around the world, believe they are heirs to that region, including Israel, also set up by the U.N.

The Israelis appear to believe their claim predates those of the other groups by thousands of years which opens up a big can of worms in itself.

It's likely that Palestinians see Israel as a European colonial power that has invaded their native land - again. But it was set up by the Ottoman Empire who I never hear mentioned.

I think this is part of American confusion on Israel. We claim our nation was founded in order to end colonial rule from Europe. But while we were still a colony, we came here and displaced the natives and took their land. Just as we are always hear about Israel. Are we just trying to make everyone's story ours?

The natives here were made landless, without a country to call their own, moved about to suit the fancy of the new powers on the continent. That is what the great powers did in the area called Palestine. The Israeli state is based in modern times on that version of the world. And now the others in the area have used the U.N. version to get help.

So some find it dangerous to open up a can of worms and say anything other than that Israel has a god-given right to that land. Christian tradition as used in the Americas, also claimed they had a god-given right to do what, by modern standards, was genocide. What if the logic that calls Israel an illegitimate state is used in the Americas?

England's Balfour Declaration in 1917 was an European idea, made in a peace treaty with the Ottoman Empire:

His Majesty's government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balfour_Declaration

I believe that the U.N. has sanctioned the state of Israel for not following through with the part I underlined. Most Islamic states have had a reputation of not bothering Jews in their nations.

Another thing about this treaty may account for the various conflicts and attacks on Israel. That the peoples of the region were not given a vote on the creation of Israel. It was done by outside forces, European ones and the Ottoman Empire which no longer exists to protect their rights, if they ever had any. So the are not going to follow the treaty.

I am definitely not any kind of scholar on this area, and have no interest in fighting over it. From what I've read online for many years, the two sides are implacable in their demands that the area belongs to them and will likely, as the Sheik says, be fighting over it until the Day of Judgment that all of those peoples believe in.

I think there is something to be said for both sides, both good and bad. Some of it is the fallout from empire. And I don't think Americans are capable of trying to enforce our ideas on an area that is so much older and complex than our own.

Regarding papers stamped with 'State of Palestine' if this is true (and I don't believe much from either side - as I said, these folks are not as simple as Americans) then rejecting them for that is a frivolous thing to do. Do Israelis see Gaza as part of the State of Israel?

By treaty, agree with it or not, everything that sourrounds Israel is called Palestine. Or do they want it called the State of Gaza?

An area with no status or government is a recipe for anarchy and huge trouble for its neighbors. If Gaza is not part of Israel, and not part of Egypt, it's Palestine. That's from the treaty that created Israel. You can't have it both ways.

They need to be annexed or left alone by Israel to form their own government and lives and call themselves whatever they want.

I feel their is so much left out of all these events there.


.

JMHO.

[7962]

82. I agree; its hard to just believe anything that comes out of that region

Although I would give the Israelis more benefit of doubt. I mean, how many stories have the palestinians pushed about Jews using the blood of children make food? There are so many over the top accusations.
Here, the native americans were definitely mis treated, but they are not prevented from living or working anywhere they wish. They also dont continually attack civilians either.
Another thing no one ever seems to mention; when Israel became a state in '47, Jordan also became a state. To this day they dont allow palestinians out of camps. Yet there is no push to "take back" Jordan. Israel is actually more accommodating of Arabs than other countries in some ways.
If the palestinians were to stop constantly attacking and shelling israel all the time, they probably wouldve HAD their own country by now.

[Mosby]

39. This was a publicity stunt

Hamas has been playing games with the entry permits for months by changing the letterhead on some of the requests from the PA to "state of Palestine". This time they sent 50+ people with the fake docs so they could punk the media. Looks like it worked.

[delrem]

48. Palestine has observer status at the UN. Palestine exists.

The fact that Palestine exists is not a "publicity stunt".

[leftynyc]

79. Well, they knew

they would find a receptive audience among those who think Israel is the root of all the evils in the middle east. They were right.

[yurbud]

92. that's petty